Navan photographer’s portrait of judge used in stamp set

Navan native photographer Tony Murray's portrait of former Chief Justice of Ireland Susan Denham was selected by An Post for its recently launched stamp set, 'Women in Public Life'. The collection also features former President Mary Robinson, Jennie Wyse Power (1858-1941) and Thekla Beere (1901–1991).

From O'Growney Terrace, Tony is a son of the Michael and Imelda Murray. His father, as well as having a shoe repair business on Cornmarket, was also a keen amateur photographer, and even had his own darkroom back in the late 1950s and early '60s. Tony remembers the mysterious orange glow of the darkroom and the magic of seeing a photograph appear in the developing dish. Michael passed away at the age of 53, but had planted the seed for photography in Tony’s mind, then aged 16.

It was the late 1970s and although Tony had a huge interest in photography, he was offered a place to study engineering and mathematics at Trinity College Dublin. His mother's advice was: ‘Go to college, get your degree and then do photography if you still want to.’ He accepted the place in Trinity and worked weekends with James Carney Photography, Navan, who was a great mentor and teacher who allowed Tony to use his darkroom to print his own fine art landscape images.

Leaving college, Tony then worked in the multinational manufacturing industry for 20 years with Braun, Gillette, and Procter and Gamble and, in 2005, followed his passion for photography and set up his own photography (www.tonygmurray.com) and fine art printing (www.murrayimagingstudios.com) business in Naas, Co Kildare.

Since then, Tony has had numerous solo exhibitions. He was awarded Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2009 by the Irish Professional Photographers of Ireland, the IPPA. Last year, one his works ‘One Life Infinite Possibilities’ was accepted by The Royal Hibernian Academy for their 192nd Annual exhibition. He also works and prints for many of Ireland’s leading artists including Mark O’Neill and Peter Curling – copying their original artworks and producing their limited edition prints. Last year he was commissioned to digitise and archive the complete art collection of over 300 works, for the Butler Gallery in Kilkenny.

He says: "Some years ago, I was commissioned by Naas Court for a photo shoot at the Carlow Court House. In attendance was the then Chief Justice of Ireland, Susan Denham. I asked Susan could I capture a portrait of her in front of the concrete pillars outside the court house – pillars of justice came to mind. She kindly agreed. Last November, I received a call from Paul Griffin, stamp design and production manager for An Post, asking for permission to use one of my images on a stamp." He continues: "It would be one in an edition of four stamps, designed by Oonagh Young of Design HQ, that celebrate women who have made an indelible mark on Irish public life over the last 140 years. Paul and his team had been looking for a portrait of Chief Justice Susan Denham and when they found my portrait on Google, everyone agreed it was their preferred image. It then had to be approved by Government and by Judge Denham. On Christmas week I received the great news that it would be used for the stamp collection.”

Debbie Byrne, managing director of An Post Retail, said that the Women in Public Life stamp series aims to recognise women who are changemakers in their own lifetime, and who have worked to improve the lives of others in Ireland and across the globe.

Tony now lives in Naas and is married to Denise Coughlan from the Kildare town. "As a husband to Denise and father to three inspiring young women, Emily, Louise, and Karin, it is an honour for my portrait of Susan to be used for this collection," he says.